


Day Two

by Spazzo47



Category: The Newsroom (US TV)
Genre: Control Room staff, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-30
Updated: 2019-04-30
Packaged: 2020-02-10 02:32:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18651121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spazzo47/pseuds/Spazzo47
Summary: It's Mac's second day at News Night and Will has something to prove to her.This is for LilacMermaid's Fan Fiction Challenge 3 Things.  So there are three things hidden in this story and you have to guess what they are.  I'll let you know what they were at the end and then you can tell me how you did.





	Day Two

“Will somebody find out what a God damned Saluki is?”

At the end of the show, no one had a lot to do, but the control room immediately made a big show of dropping whatever they could to appease the new _News Night_  executive producer.  Having the anchor in a foul mood didn’t bother them too much since he didn’t even know their names, but she made it clear that she would have her hands all over the broadcast. 

“Will, can you please end this insipid discussion?  Nobody cares about a minor league baseball team’s fucking name!”

As Mac’s voice raised at the end of her statement, Joey said, “I think it’s a… tarantula?”

Jake said, “it’s an aardvark.  I had one that lived outside my apartment.  I named him Andy.”

Herb asked, “Do aardvarks live in the city?”

Mac, losing her shit after seeing the smug look Will gave the camera once he knew it wasn't on him, yelled, “Do we not have computers in here?  Somebody Google it!”  She then switched to Will.  “We’re working on getting you what the animal is, we can get back to that breaking question, if you want to start closing the show.”

Martin ran in.  “Neal says Twitter’s going nuts.  It’s a strange looking dog.”

“Can we verify that?”

Will continued talking with his guests about the potential animals that a Saluki is, one guest suggesting it’s a rare Greek bird.  Will kept the guest talking about the bird he described, while smiling at Mac whenever he could. 

“You know I can call for it to go to you anytime I want.  Make you look like the ass you are.”  Mac turned him off again.  “Are we making any progress at all, or do I need to have him start singing something by the Hanson Brothers?”

Herb said, “Hanson's out, One Direction is in.”  When people started looking at him, "I have a 15 year old daughter.”

Martin said, “What about the Spice Girls?  He could do ‘Wannabe’.”

All eyes turned to Martin.  When no one said anything, Jim filled in, “I think he’s more a classic rock guy.”

“Aren't the 90s classic rock?”

Mac exhaled deeply.  She didn’t know how they got from the Deep Water Horizon to minor league baseball teams and now Spice Girls songs, but she had to get this under control.  “Will, a Saluki is an… aardvark.  Just say it and end the show.”

Jim asked her, “do you actually know that?”

Maggie ran in and said, “A dog.  It’s an Egyptian dog.”

At the same moment, Will said, “We have confirmation that the Saluki is an Egyptian dog.  For the staff at _News Night_ , I’m Will McAvoy.  Good night.”

As soon as Herb yelled clear, Will looked smug in the camera again, daring Mac to say something.  “Mother fucker.  You knew that the whole time and you let that go on!”

“You do not own me from 8:00-9:00.”

“Do that to me again and I’ll put bars up on the screen.”

As Jim watched Will and Mac go back and forth, he turned to Maggie, “You really think they’re flirting?”

She nodded her head hard, “Absolutely.” 

Jim thought to himself, “Definitely did not have a crush on her.” 

He looked at Maggie and smiled.  Before he could suggest going to Hang Chews, Jake said, “who wants to get some pizza?  The place across the street has the best chicken, peppers and anchovies.”

Herb asked, "Which one?  The Flying Owl or Munchies?"

Jake said, "Munchies."

Tess considered and said, “Peppers and mushrooms are the worst toppings on a pizza, but, I can eat anything else.”

Herb said, “Put me down for a pepperoni.  My wife doesn’t need to know.”

As the group cleared out of the control room, Mac sat in the control room wondering what she needed to do to make this working relationship work.  It’s day two of this arrangement and she’s in for the long haul, whatever it takes.  Looking up, she saw Will still sitting at the anchor desk.  “You know you’re better than this shit.”

“I know.”

“Is showing me the kind of ass you can be worth your fucking reputation?”

Will shrugged his shoulders.  “That is my reputation.  I think it’s yours you’re worried about.”

She cued up his September 11 coverage and put it on a monitor so he could see it.  “No Billy, it’s yours.”  When she saw that he watched the coverage intently, she added, “We’re getting some pizza across the street, if you want to join us.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> The three things:  
> An Owl  
> Someone's Least Favorite Food  
> A Spice Girls song
> 
> Special thank you to the local station that ended a recent broadcast trying to guess what a minor league team's mascot was. As I watched that go on for a minute longer than it should have, I kept wondering what was going on in the control room. Then they announced (stupidly) that someone confirmed it was a prairie dog. And this story was born.


End file.
